Loom



Nov. 13, 1945. `l-l. L sHUTTLEwQRTH LOOM Filed March 28, 1944 5 sheets-sheet 1 fwzw ga.

H. L. SHUTTLEWORTH LOOM Filed March 28, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 13, i945.

Filed March 28, 1944 H. 1 sHUTTLEwoRTH LOOM 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 @www ATTORNEY` stuffer warps.

Patented Nov. 13, 1945 LooM Howard L. shuttleworth, Amsterdam, N. Y., assignor to Mohawk Carpet Mills, Inc., Amsterdam, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 28, 1944, Serial No. 528,390 4 claims. (ci. 139-55) This invention relates to fabrics and is concerned more particularly with a novel fabric which is of attractive appearance and low cost and may be used to especial advantage as a oor covering in bedrooms, as a bathroom mat, etc. The invention further includes a new loom by which the fabric may be produced at a high output rate and at a low labor cost.

The new fabric comprises shots of weft, preferably made of a heavy yarn, such as one formed of a plurality of coarse rovings plied together,- and binder warps interwoven with the weft shots. The weftshots lie in pairs in the fabric with one shot above the other, and the binder warps are made up of two sets with pairs of the warps, one from each set, lying in spaced relation across the fabric. The warps of each pair pass, respectively, over and under the pairs of weft shots to bind the shots together and theV warps of the pair cross between adjacent pairs of weft shots; The weft shots are preferably made up of yarns of different colors and the shots of certain pairs reverse their positions between the edges of the fabric, so as to cause certain areas of the face of the fabric to be formed of yarn of onecolor and other areas of the yarn of the other color. Such reversal of the positions of the weft shots is in accordance with a pattern and the pattern is visible on the back of the fabric butl with the colors reversed.

The new loom comprises a pair of heddle frames for handling the binder warps, and heddle eyes controlled by pattern mechanism, such as a jacquard. A plurality of wires anchored in place by suitable means extend warpwise and are controlled by the heddle eyes in the manner of The weft shots are inserted. by a needle and the weft yarns from a plurality of supplies are supplied selectively to the needle in accordance with the requirements of the pattern.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be made to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a view of the new loom in front elevation with various parts removed;

Fig. la is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing additional features.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional View on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic illustration showing the mechanism by which the warp threads and wires are manipulated to form a shed;

Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are views similar to Fig. 3 showing different stages in the weaving of the newfabric;

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view'showing the fabric with the wires in place; Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. '7 showing the fabric with the wires removed; and

Fig. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of the new fabric as it leaves the loom.

The new fabric, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 8, includes two sets of binder warps or fine chains III, I I and the warps are arranged in spaced pairs across the fabric, each pair consisting of a warp of each set. The binder warps may be made of any suitable material and are ordinarily made of cotton and are of relatively small size. Interwoven with the binder warps are weft shots I3 which are inserted by a needle and are, therefore, made up of two strands as is usual. The weft shots are preferably of a heavy soft yarn or they may be made of coarse rovings plied together. Any desired fibrous material may be employed for the weft shots and cotton is suitable.

In the fabric, the weft shots, such as those marked I3a, I3b, are bound together in pairs, one shot above the other, by the warps I0, II, and one warp of each pair I2 across the fabric passes over the upper shot I3a of the pair of shots and the other warp of the pair I2 passes beneath the lower `shot I3b of the pair. pair I2 cross each other between adjacent pairs of weft shots along the fabric so that the weft shots of each pair I3a, I3b are bound on all sides and against each other by the warps. As the warps are of small size,'the pairs I2 thereof are spaced apart across the fabric, and the weft shots are preferably made of relatively soft heavy yarn into which the warps sink somewhat. The warps are not particularly noticeable when the fabric is viewed from a distance and the appearance of the fabric is determined by the color of the weft yarns.

The fabric disclosed includes weft ,shots of two different colors drawn from two different supplies I4, I5 and the yarns may be introduced into the fabric in any desired sequence or arrangement in accordance with .a pattern. In the fabric illustrated, the weft yarns from the two supplies r'are inserted in alternation and, in the weaving operation, the individual weft shots are either caused to lie in one level entirely across the fabric or a shot may lie above'or below its associated shot part Way across the fabric andl then reverse position for another part of its. length. This is shown in Fig. '7, in which it will be seen that the weft shot Ilia lies in the upper level above shot IBb for a part of its length and the The warps of the the latter.

relative positions of the shots are reversed at the points I'l, which lie preferably in alignment with pairs l2 of binder warps. Since the weft shots i611, ISh are of different colors, the reversal of a pattern in as many colors as there are different colored weft yarns. The pattern is visible at both the face and back of the fabric and the face and back patterns are the reverse of one another.

The fabric shown at Il in Fig. 2 has a face pattern consisting of diamond shaped areas I3 of one color, such as red, on 'a groimd 20 of a diiferent In the construction disclod in which two weft yarns are to be woven into the fabric, there are two slides il and the slides are moved alternately to supply yarn to the needle, so that successive weft shots are formed of the yarns from the two supplies. The slides Il may be actuated by any suitable mechanism and their movement may be eitherin alternation or in accordance with a pattern.` Also, more than two kinds of weft yarn may be employed, in which event, an addi- `tional slide will be provided for each weft yarn.

When the needle carries yarn into the shed to form a weft shot, a selvage coi-djs passed through color, for example, blue. The back pattern is the reverse, with blue diamonds on a red ground.

The loom for making the new fabric includes a pair of heddle frames zla, 2lb suspended from levers 22 pivotally mounted on the frame strucl ture 23 of the loom and operated byv cams and levers in the usual way. so that in the formation of a shed, the frames, which are alternately raised and lowered, are oppositely disposed. The loom also includes a jacquard mechanism containing a plurality of hooks 24, each provided with a selector wire 25 and having a tail cord 26 suspended from it. Each cord has an eye 21 and the cord is kept taut by a lingo weight 28,

The hooks 23 are of standard construction and pass through a stationary grid 2s upon which they rest, except when they are raised therefrom by a movable grid 30. 'Ihe selection of the hooks thus to be raised by grid nis determined by the action of punched cards 3| advanced around a card barrel 32 which is swung toward the ends ofthe selector wires 25. In such action of the card barrel, the wires opposite holes in the card remain stationary, while those opposite solid portions of the cards are pushed back. After a card has thus made the selection, the movable grid 3U rises to raise selected hooks 24 and their tail cords, while the other hooks remain at rest on the stationary grid. This operation is in accordance with the usual Jacquard practice.

A bar 33 mounted on the loom framework extends across the warps and to this bar are attached a plurality of wires 34. These wires pass through eyes 21 on the tail cords and each eye thus controls vone or more of the wires. The wires extend through the heddle frames and past the weaving` point into the completed fabric and, in the operation of the Jacquard mechanism, the individual wires are raised and lowered to lie at the top or bottom ofthe shed, dependent upon the action of the Jacquard cards.

The weft shots are inserted by a needle 35 mounted one.v carriage 36 movable along a track 31 supported on framework 38. The carriage is actuated from a shaft 39 by linkage 40 and levers 4I, 42. 'Ihe needle is formed with a recess 43 in its forward end and as .the needle advances, it picks up weft yarn I3 from one or the other of supplies I4, l5 in its recess and carries the thread through the shed. The yarn from each supply passes through a fixed guide 44 and another guide 45 to a spring pressed tensioning device 46 from which the yarn passes through guides 4l, 4l, 49 to an eye in a movable slide 5|. slide 5| for each, of the weft yarns and the slides are horizontally reciprocable. In one position of either slide, it holds the yarn passing through the eye thereof in position to be picked up in the recess of the needle in the advancing movement of the lop of yarn at the end of the inserting stroke of the needle by conventional selvage shuttle mechanism, generally designated 52. As the needle is retracted, the' shot is then retained in place by the selvage cord and when the needle has been removed from the shed, the weft shot inserted is beaten up by the usual lay.

In the formation of the fabric shown in the drawings, the Jacquard mechanism controls the raising and lowering of the wires 34 so that in the formation of a particular shed. as shown in Fig. 3, the wires shown may lie in the upper part of the shed while other wires, not shown, lie in the lower part of theyshed. At this time, one of the heddle frames 2|a is raised so that the binder warps i0 are in the upper part of the shed and the other frame 2 ib is lowered so that the binder warps l l lie in the lower part of the shed. YWhen a weft shot is now inserted by the needle, the shot will lie below some of the wires and above others and will thus assume the position of the shot I3b in Fig. 9.

In the formation of the next shed, the hooks 24 engaged by the movable grid lll are lowered with that grid, so that wires 34, which were previously in the upper part of the shed, will now lie in the lower part of the shed. At the same'time, the trap board rock shaft 54a is rocked by the usual cam and linkage, and the trap board 54 is raised.

The trap board, which is of conventional construction, has openings of key-hole shape. and, as the board rises, the edges of the narrow portions of the openings engage the knots 55 of cords 26 attached to hooks 24, which have not been raised from the stationary grid 29, and the board lifts those cords. The hooks 24, which have been picked up and raised by grid 33, have thereby been shifted slightly, so that the knots 55 of-the cords 26 attached to the lifted hooks lie in line with the large portions' of the openings in board 54. Accordingly, as the movable grid 3|! descends, the knots in the cords attached to the hooks, which are being lowered by the movable grid, pass through the openings in the trap board. This shifting of the cords 2i attached to hooks 24 is permitted, because the openings in the several stationary guide bars through which the cords pass above trap board i4 are of sumcient size for the purpose.

As the trap board rises and the movable grid 3ldescends, the wires 34 which were in the upper part of the first shed are lowered to the lower part of the second shed, and the wires that were in the lower part of the rst shed are raised to the upper part of the second-shed. In the formation' is lowered and heddle frame 2lb is raised. At the same time, the movable grid 30 rises to lift hooks 24 and cords 26 controlling certain of the wires 34, as determined by the pattern card 3| then in position. As the grid 30 rises, the trap board is lowered, and the tail cords of other wires 34 are in the down position. The reversal of the positions of frames Zia, 2lb causes warps I0, il to cross, as indicated at 53, and the two shots previously inserted are thereby bound in place.

In the third shed, warps l are in the lower level and warps ii are in the upper level. Certain of the wires 34 are in the upper level, as the result of the raising of their cords 26 and hooks 24 by the movable grid, while the remaining wires 34 are in the lower level. After the insertion and beating up of a weft shot, a fourth shed is formed by the lowering of the movable grid 30 and the raising of the trap board 54, as previously explained. In the formation of the fourth shed, heddles 2 la, 2lb retain their positions. With the insertion and beating up of the fourth shot, the cycle is completed and the sequence of operation starts again.

As the wires 34 are individually controlled by the action of selector wires 25 on their hooks 24, all the wires 34 may be in either the upper or lower part of any shed, or certain of the wires may be in the upper part and certain in the lower. In two successive sheds, in the first of which the movable grid 30 was raised, wires 34 reverse their positions, that is, the wires that were in the upper level in the nrst shed will be in the lower and in the second, and the wires that were in the lower level of the first shed will bein the upper level in the second. 'Ihis result is obtained by the use of the knots and trap board, and, in the operations described, the movable grid 30 rises only half as often as would otherwise be necessary and only half as many pattern cards 3| are required. l

By manipulation of the wires 34 by means of the Jacquard mechanism, a weft shot may be inserted partly above and partly below` wires 34, as illustrated by. shot I6a, Fig. 7. Such portions of the shotv as lie above the wires are visible at the face of the fabric and those below the wires are visible at the back of the fabric'. By proper control of the wires 34 by the Jacquard4 mechanism, the fabric can be woven with any desired pattern, which appears at the face of the fabric and also at the back, but with the colors reversed. A

The wires 34 serve as stuier warps in the formation of the fabric but are mounted on the xed bar 33 so that as the weaving operation continues, the fabric moves on the ends of the wires as it is taken up on the take-up roll. that in the finished fabric, the weft shots areinserted in pairs lying one above the other, but they are in direct contact. Each pair of weft shots is bound by binder warps passing above and below the respective shots of the pair and the binder warps cross both ahead and behind each pair of shots so that the shots are rmly bound in place.

While the insertion of the weft shots above and beneath wires 84 in such manner that part of the shot is visible at the face and the remainder visible at the back of the fabric can be effected by the use of stuffer warps manipulated by a Jacquard mechanism, such stufier warps remain in the fabric and add to its bulk. The fabric produced on the loom provided with wires 34 is, therefore, substantially lighter and more flexible than one containing stuifer warps, but the fabric The result is 1 may have the same pattern effects as are obtainable when stuier warps are employed.

The fabric disclosed includes only two kinds of weft yarn, but more than two kinds may be employed, in which event each of the yarns will be provided with its own means for placing it in position to be picked up by the needle at the appropriate time. The weft yarns may be supplied to the needle in alternation or in a regular sequence or they may be supplied under the control of well known pattern means.

I claim:

1. In a loom, the combination of a pair of heddle frames adapted to control binder warps, means for raising and lowering the frames alternately and in opposite order to cause binder warps controlled thereby to lie in upper and lower parts of a shed, a plurality of wires extending warpwise through the heddle frames and freethereof, means at one side of the heddle frames for anchoring the wires at one end, heddle eyes for raising and lowering the wires to cause them to lie in upper and lower parts of the shed, pattern-controlled means for operating the heddle eyes selectively, a'needle for inserting weft shots in the sheds successively formed, `a pair of supplies of weft yarn, and means for selectively supplyingV yarn fromthe respective supplies to the needle for insertion in the fabric.

2. In a loom, the combination of a pairof heddel framesadapted to control binder warps, means for raising and lowering the frames alternately and in opposite order to cause binder warps controlled thereby to lie in upper and lower parts of a shed, a bar extending across the loom at one side of the ,heddle frames, a plurality of wires attached to the bar and extending warpwise through the heddle frames and free thereof, heddle eyes for raising and lowering the wires to cause them to lie in upper and lower parts of the shed. Jacquard means for operating the heddle eyes selectively, a needle for inserting weft shots in the sheds successively formed, a pair of supplies of weft yarn, and means for selectively supplying yarn from the respective supplies to the needle for insertion in the fabric.

3. In a loom, the combination of a pair of heddle frames 1 adapted to control binder warps, means for raising and lowering the frames alternately and in opposite order to cause binder warps controlled thereby to lie in upper and lower parts of a shed, a plurality of wires extending warpwisev through the heddle frames and free thereof, means at one side of the heddle frames for anchoring the wires at one end, heddle eyes for raising and lowering the wires to cause them to lie in upper and lower parts of the shed, means for operating the heddle eyes selectively, and means for inserting weft yarn in the sheds successively formed.

4. In a loom, the combination of a pair of heddle frames adapted to control binder warps, means for raising and lowering the frames alternately and in opposite order to cause binder warps controlled thereby to lie in upper and lower parts of a shed, a plurality of wires extending warpwise through the heddle frames and free thereof, means at one side of the heddle frames for anchoring the wires at one end, heddle eyes for rais.. ing and lowering the wires tocause'them to lie in upper and lower parts of the shed, means for operating the heddle eyes selectively, and means for inserting weft yarns of different kinds in the sheds successively formed. ,1

HOWARD L. SHU'I'I'LIWORTH. 

